Murad – Bubbly Michelle

Skincare essentials – Travel edition

January 19, 2015August 1, 2015by Bubbly Michelle16 Comments

There are some things in life I just can’t live without, and that’s a decent skincare arsenal. Here’s mine, stripped down to a bare minimum. These are all I need to keep my skin happy during a short getaway.

Bare in mind that this is just what I packed for a couple of days at the beach so I haven’t included a heavy duty cleanser as I’m not wearing much other than a concealer and brows. Somedays I do a little eye liner, but that’s about it.

To me a good skincare routine includes an effective cleanser. For now I’m relying on this one by Murad. I’ve repurchased this and it’s been my go to cleanser for the last 5 years or so. It’s their Soothing Gel Cleanser formulated for sensitive skin. The texture is very light weight and jelly like. It doesn’t foam much but cleans my face without stripping it of all moisture. Skin feels comfortable and bouncy. I use this morning and night.

If i’m wearing any eye makeup, I use the Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover to cleanse it off at the end of the day. I pack this smaller travel size bottle and it doesn’t take up too much space in my travel pouch. For speedy eye makeup removal (even waterproof mascara) without any sensitivity I highly recommend this one.

After cleansing, it’s moisturiser and sun screen. No matter how humid or sweaty the weather is, it’s a non negotiable step. Ideally with my extra oily t-zone, i’d happily go without moisturiser, but since it’s something I don’t compromise on, next best thing is my Hydraluron hydration serum. It gives my skin a burst of moisture and absorbs immediately leaving NO oily feeling.

I then follow with my daily sunscreen which is the Avène Day Protector UV EX SPF 30 PA ++++. I like that it’s formulated for sensitive skin and also absorbs well into the skin leaving it velvety and supple. Again, no oiliness. On the down side, I am convinced this blocks my pores. But until I find something as good as this, it’s a necessary evil i’m willing to put up with. Sigh.

For eyes I always, always use an eye cream. Even during the day, under makeup, I use one.

For travel I mainly pack these three. One serum and two eye creams.

For the ultimate line busting solution, my go to is the Zelens Triple Action Advanced eye cream. It’s a light gel texture and feels amazing on the eye area (for those of you who have very dry under eyes or love richer night creams, this one will feel rather under nourishing as it absorbs completely).

Usually I apply this after I have prepped my under eye with the Lancôme Génifique Yeux. Which is a serum that absorbs immediately and leaves no greasy feel under the eyes. The reason I pair all my eye creams with the Génifique Yeux is that I notice it boosts the anti aging benefits of my eye creams and I love it.

For nights I prefer to alternate my Zelens eye cream with the Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Corrective eye cream. This is my holy grail hydrating/anti-aging eye cream. Although it’s not as effective on deep, stubborn wrinkles (compared to Zelens) I love it for how hydrating it is. It actually does an amazing job hydrating so I always repurchase this.

If you don’t have any major wrinkle issues and/or in the mid 20’s to early 30’s this is the one for you! It keeps eyes looking bright and youthful as well as controlling the appearance of any new fine lines.

The one thing I NEVER ever leave home without is my Lancôme Visionnaire Serum, reviewed here. It’s been my holy grail serum for the last three years or so.

If uneven, blemished skin with noticeable pores are your concern. This is what you need. It will make your skin look rested and glowing overnight. I have several of these at home, including this tiny version I use when I travel.

Lastly, I also pack two SOS treatment products where ever I go. One is the Avène Soothing serum. It’s what I rely on when my skin feels sensitized and red. If you suffer from sensitive skin, this product is gold. It instantly calms angry, red blotchy skin.

My second SOS product is the Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel. It’s god sent for banishing those pesky, holiday ruining breakouts. Apply this at the very first sign of a blemish and you could control the breakout as well as enable it to heal without leaving any discolouration or marks. Certainly a product worth investing in.

So there you have it. My skincare essentials for travel. They all fit into a relatively small pouch so by no means is it a burden carrying them around. And at the end of the day, my little bag of magic comes equipped with everything I would need for any holiday emergency!

Skincare

Morning skincare routine

May 4, 2014July 30, 2014by Bubbly Michelle4 Comments

Here it is, the final entry for skincare week!

I know I seem to have worked backwards as far as sequence goes.. but that’s how my world works!

So this is going to be all about morning skincare. I basically keep it very simple and never really go overboard with any anti ageing skincare during the day time as I feel the benefits of skincare are delivered more effectively in the p.m, as skin repairs itself at night while we sleep.

I normally start off with a mild cleanse, as there is no makeup or dirt to be removed. All a morning cleanser needs to do is take away last nights left over skincare (if any) and clear out any dead skin cells.

For that I rely on this Murad one.

Also around three times a week I sneak in a bit of Clarisonic action skipping my Murad cleanser for some extra deep cleaning and literally sweep away any dead cell buildup. I pair it with this Soy face cleanser by Fresh.

Finally on to the good stuff,

During the a.m I like to use this Facial Treatment Clear lotion by SK2 which is a clarifying toner to refresh and wipe off dead cells and prep skin for the next step.. moisturizer!

Moisturiser is something I take very seriously as my combination skin can be a real pain in the a** if not hydrated well and the dryer areas such as my cheeks can be especially uncooperative when I am applying foundation, and rebel with flakey patches. The key is to find a product that works great at hydrating as well as being light enough to not cause an oily mess on my t-zone as the day goes on.

I really love the Clarins HydraQuench range for this. It hydrates but is light enough for the daytime. It’s also a great basic moisturizer that pairs well with most serums as it doesn’t necessarily have any specific anti ageing or treatment properties that may conflict with the serums that you may currently use. It has a lovely light texture, a refreshing soft smell and absorbs really fast.

I’d highly recommend the cream gel version to anyone with oily or combination skin for effective oil free hydrating . Two thumbs up!

The next product is a fairly new addition to my routine. It’s this really nice Soothing Serum by Avène. It’s heaven sent for days when I wake up with a nasty red blemish or any irritations in general. This baby calms skin like nobody’s business! If you are plagued with sensitive skin as I am, you’d know the woes of dealing with hot, flushed red patches all over your face. The Soothing Serum calms redness caused by irritation within 15 mins and works really well for me. I just love it. (I use this before moisturizing btw and only when needed, not everyday)

Next up, eye creams

In the mornings I choose light or lifting eye creams. I find that my regular night eye creams are too heavy for the day time and would cause my concealer to migrate and shift as it makes the under eye area very slick.

So the SK2 Facial Treatment Essence eye cream is perfect for that. It’s a very light texture and delivers just enough hydration to create a good base for applying any concealer.

Another eye cream I really love for day time is this one by Lancôme. The Rénergie Yeux Multi Lift. I am so drawn to eye creams that lift the eye lid and deflate any puffiness. And in the mornings it’s essential to have depuffed under eyes to stop them looking tired. And this one is not too heavy and hydrates just the right amount. A big plus for me.

One more eye cream I really loved for it’s lifting action is the Clarins Defining Eye Lift. It instantly lifts up the eyelid and gives it a more youthful appearance. It also tightens the under eyes. Sadly I only had a sample of this and never really purchased it as it’s not necessarily hydrating enough to use on the whole eye area (it’s a runny liquid type serum). But I hope to purchase this in future as it did a good job as far as lifting goes, and I can use this strictly on my lids.

With that, I conclude my a.m routine.

Hope you found this post interesting.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, and if you are a residing in Singapore there is a little giveaway happening on my IG (which ends tonight). Pop by there and leave a comment to win a whole bunch of Yves Rocher goodies that were so generously sent to me by Yves Rocher Singapore specially for my lovely followers. There are two sets up for grabs 🙂

Skincare

Cleansers, Cleansers, Cleansers!

April 26, 2014April 28, 2014by Bubbly Michelle21 Comments

I believe thorough cleansing is an integral part of ones skincare routine. As much as you put in effort to do your makeup, it’s also important to remove it at the end of the day and let your skin breath.

Unless you wear a lot of makeup you probably wouldn’t want to double cleanse. But making sure skin is squeaky clean before you get into bed is possibly the best beauty advice I could give anyone.

So if you are still on the look out for that perfect cleanser, maybe you’ll find something you’ll like here… So read on!

Here’s my stash. I know to some it may look a bit excessive, but I like to keep a wide selection at hand for my various cleansing needs. I promise you all of these purchases were necessary 😉

So what exactly are these so called ‘various’ cleansing needs?

a. Something mild, to use as a pre cleanser when I feel like double cleansing.

b. Morning cleansers

c. Heavy duty makeup removers (in my case, cleansing oils)

d. Cleansers I use with my Clarisonic

e. Exfoliating cleansers

Starting with morning cleansers.

My favourite is this Murad one for sensitive skin which I’ve been using for almost two years and love. It’s a gel formula and so mild; never strips my face off all it’s moisture. I love its very soft fresh fragrance and although it doesn’t lather too much, it’s very pleasurable to use.

I specially cherish it on days when my skin’s breaking out, as this never aggravates any sensitivity.

Pre cleansers

No cleanser post is complete without a mention of this miracle water. My trusty Bioderma. It’s a Micellar water cleanser, which requires no rinsing and is a soap & alcohol free formula. Also this has no detectable smell so it’s great for those who are sensitive to overly fragranced cleansers.

Personally I really love it for days when I wear little to no makeup and it’s my cheat for a quick cleanse without messing with cleansing oils. It’s also mild enough to use in a double cleanse routine.

On the down side I always see a tiny bit of makeup residue on my cotton pad after toning. So I always make sure I tone to get that last bit of makeup off.

What I love the most is this never leaves my face feeling tight or dry. A must have in everyones stash!

The makeup removers

For cleansing off a full face of makeup, I always rely on oils. They really do take off makeup effortlessly with no scrubbing. I seriously can’t believe I waited so long to try these!

Oil cleansers are usually applied on dry skin unlike regular foaming cleansers then massaged in and washed off. And my favourite cleansing oil is the SK2 one. I love that it’s so effective when it comes to taking off all makeup, no need to double cleanse. And it leaves no oily residue on your face but a soft moist bouncy clean feeling. It’s my favourite!

Also in my stash are two Shu Uemura cleansers. The POREfinist and Ultim8 (Both sent to me by Shu Uemura for review). They both do a good job cleansing off makeup but I am not too crazy about the fact that these sting my eyes. Specially the POREfinist, as it’s a finer and thinner formula than the Ultim8 it always, always gets in my eye!

Cleansers I use with my Clarisonic

I only use one to be honest and that’s the Soy Face Cleanser by Fresh. Possibly their most popular skincare product. This has a very refreshing fragrance which I LOVE! I believe it’s cucumber… hmmm hard to describe actually.

It doesn’t lather up much as it’s a gel cleanser but after use I feel that it leaves the skin a bit thirsty. Not in a tight uncomfortable way but more of a ‘on the brink of feeling dry’ way.

So I am still on the look out for a more hydrating gel cleanser to use with my Clarisonic, so please let me know which ones you use with your Clarisonic. I’d love to give them a try 🙂

Daily exfoliators

As much as I’d love to believe the claim that this gentle exfoliator is fine for everyday use. Good sense tells me not to.

Since skin doesn’t renew itself that fast, I feel that exfoliating everyday aka over exfoliating is just as bad as under exfoliating. That being said, the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser smells sooo nice, it makes me want to! But of course I don’t! haha

It smells so fresh and I just love using this, but of course maybe once every three days or so, in the mornings. If you are lazy or keep forgetting to exfoliate, purchase this, it’s easy to use and you’d eventually train yourself to routine exfoliation!

I also love that the beads in this are not as abrasive compared to some in the market. And it’s actually pretty mild and never leaves your skin looking bruised and rosy!

Here’s a look at texture, I didn’t take any of the cleansing oils as they are purely just oil!

So in summary,

Murad Soothing Gel Cleanser- For those with sensitive skin and redness try this mild cleanser.

Bioderma Créaline Micellaire Solution- Sensitive / Normal to Combination, great for lazy days and travel.

Shu Uemura Cleansing POREfinist- Oily to Combination skin to take off heavy makeup.

Shu Uemura Ultim8 – All skin types and claims anti aging skincare benefits so I’d say it’s suited for mature skin as well.

SK2 Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil – All skin types to take off heavy makeup.

Soy Face Cleanser- Normal to Combination skin (Although it’s recommended for all skin types) a good everyday cleanser.

Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser – All skin types

Hope you enjoyed this post and I plan on doing more skincare posts in the weeks to come.

So feel free to let me know if there is anything you specifically want to see on my blog 🙂