Hada Labo Advertorial

I have terrible skin.

I’m not talking about occasional zits or breakouts. I’m talkin’ open enlarged pores with active oil secretion, pimple bumps and dry patches all year round. All day, every day. It doesn’t get better than this, does it?

For unfortunate people like me, finding the right skin product that won’t clog pores or aggravate the situation is critical. It’s almost rocket science, really.




I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to get sponsored 2 products from Hada Labo – a Japanese skin care brand known for its effective moisturizing properties without the usual problem of overly-rich pore clogging ingredients that so many other moisturizers have.

First up..



The Hada Labo SHA Moisturizing Eye Cream!

There is a stigma that often comes with the word ‘cream’. People often perceive creams to be rich and sticky and often oily, but this product is surprisingly light and refreshing and definitely doesn’t leave an oily film behind. Application is smooth and revitalizing – i especially love applying this in the mornings to wake me up (because we’re all in permanent zombie modes in the mornings, admit it).




I’ve been a victim of a couple of other eye creams that gave me oil seeds around my eyes due to overly heavy consistencies, but I’ve been using this product for about a week and I have no complaints thus far. My peepers have never thanked me enough! It’s also crucial to use eye creams that aren’t too oily to prevent your makeup from sliding off your face throughout the day.

The SHA Moisturizing Eye Cream contains ACTIFLOW, which lightens dark circles and reduces puffiness by stimulating microcirculation.

And now on to the star product of this post.. The Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Lotion!



As previously mentioned, my skin is a nightmare. And nightmares need to be soothed gently. Which is why the SHA Hydration Lotion is a godsend due to its gentle moisturizing properties that, like the Eye Cream, is light and refreshing enough to deliver hydration without leaving sticky heavy residues.

One of the biggest mistakes a girl can make in her skincare regime is to use moisturizers that are too rich (which I’ve nagged about repeatedly). I made the mistake of using a thick cream from Khiel’s a few years back and it gave me a mess of large oil seeds that ARE STILL ON MY FACE because I don’t believe in facials, thus I have no means to get rid of them (save from poking them with a needle myself, which I will get round to doing.. Eventually).




The Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Lotion has a surprisingly light consistency and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple for hours after application. It effectively hydrates my dry flaky areas (around the nose and sides of my face) while keeping my T-Zone shine-free. So all you people with combination skin, you should run out and get this product, PRONTO.




This new and improved version boasts of Nano Hyaluronic Acid ingredients that translates to tiny molecules that encourages easier penetration for better moisturizing effects. What is Hyaluronic Acid, you ask?

Fret not. I will educate you, for I am the queen of general knowledge.

Hyaluronan (also called hyaluronic acid or hyaluronate or HA) is an anionic, nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed widely throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. It is unique among glycosaminoglycans in that it is nonsulfated, forms in the plasma membrane instead of the Golgi, and can be very large, with its molecular weight often reaching the millions.

Directly lifted from Wikipedia. Haha. Yes, I am a cheat and a fraud.

It is completely impossible to understand that chunk of information if you’re not a biology student, so let me break it down for you. Lack of hyaluronic acid causes the loss of elasticity in skin, and lack of elasticity causes wrinkles and saggy skin. So by replenishing hyaluronic acid in your body, you effectively help slow down the aging process and give your skin a healthier, youthful glow!

Which is perhaps the very reason why aesthetic clinics promote the use of hyaluronic acid fillers for to smooth out wrinkles instead of botox nowadays.



Hada Labo products are available at all Watsons stores, islandwide.

iphone snaps

Ever since I acquired my iPhone I've been compulsively taking pictures with it at every opportune moment. There are literally (LITERALLY) a million photography apps out there.. CAN'T GET ENOUGH!

First up - an indulgent shot of myself just because.


This takes shamelessness to a whole new level.


Colourful polka dotted cigarette case! SO PRWETTY!


Ooh brunch at Dean & Deluca. Scrumptious.


Ooh brunch at Pique Nique. A little less scrumptious but passable.


Rebekah's pervertic expression.


Gorgeous dress! On a gorgeous girl.


OOTD: #Kisslocke #Peplum #Studs #Denim


Joce tying her hair in a braid under her chin, tudung-style~


600 calories in a single scoop of creamy, cold and smooth goodness. Baskin Robbins, you make me a very happy girly.


Healthy rabbit food for lunch.


MUMMY STRAWBERRY AND BABY STRAWBERRY, YOU ARE BOTH GOING INTO MY MOUTH!!!


Home-cooked hotdog and mushroom pasta. Chef is I.


*Damn, I'm Brendan. And I look good. Naturally. Minions, fetch me my beer.*


Mafia Boss.


Because one can never consume enough beer.


Smoked salmon prepared at home!


Oooh Sashimi. The sole purpose of your existence is to feed us all.


Crispy wonton skin with a cold sashimi, cucumber, garlic, onion and sweet mango tangy dip. AMAZEBALLS. At a location I don't know so sadly, you won't get to try this little bit of heaven.


Angelhair pasta in cream sauce and fresh king prawns at the same undisclosed location. I'm sorry for my ignorance.


Ooh giant succulent scallops with a side of sauteed mushrooms!!!


Dribbly mozarella mushroom pizza at The Merry Men. You haven't truly tried pizza till you've tried this. Do you remember watching the Ninja Turtles back when we were kids? Y'know how amazing their cartoonized drawings of the pizza they always eat looks? Yeah, this pizzas looks and tastes (I'm guessing) every bit as heavenly as the Ninja Turtles' pizzas. NO KIDDING YOU GOTS TO TRY IT.


Buffalow wings at The Merry Men! Very average. Don't bother trying.


Truffle fries at The Merry Men! Very good. Please try.


Daily eye makeup!


Cooked brunch at home, scrambled eggs turned out shitty. Looked and tasted terrifying. :(


Chillin' by the pool at Skypark, Marina Bay Sands!


The prettiest floral shorts I've ever laid eyes on. The colours are beautiful. Up for sale in Kisslocke's next collection! And comes in sizes S, M and L!


Another picture, cos it's THAT gorgeous.


This level of gorgeousness warrants another picture (with my face in it).


Cleaned my room. Domesticated goddess is I.


Pimple stickers in cute shapes!


Joce came over to visit me while at work. This is my uniform. I actually kinda like it. Kinda.


Rebekah, drunk out of her mind. Can you tell from her woozy eyes?


Some of my favourite boys.

Lip Pure Advertorial

Hands up, all of you who suffer from dry lips!

I am, sadly, one of them victims with the misfortune of suffering from terribly dry lips. They don’t dry up till they crack though – I know some people who often get cracked lips. Absolute nightmare, I would think.

My lips aren’t exceptionally dry, but they do get flaky if I don’t keep them moisturized, especially in air-conditioned environments.

And my lips are very sensitive. Which brings me to a story on how I once got an infection on my lips from kissing a stray cat.

This happened a couple of months back. I was at my friend’s condo and there was a cute cuddly cat wandering around, looking lonely. So being the affectionate person I am, I picked up the kitty and kissed it all over for a while.

And then I woke up with rashes all over my lips the next morning.

Imagine the horror I felt when I looked into the mirror and saw a mess of peeling flakes all over my mouth. Aesthetics aside, it itched like a bitch. It was pure torture. I couldn’t leave my house for a week for fear of people mistaking my lip rashes as.. I don’t know. Rabies? Or HERPES!? Hahahaha.

So anywayyy. I slowly nursed my lips back to their soft, plump, smooth and luscious health by religiously slathering a moisturizing lip balm from Mentholatum on them every single day!

So imagine my delight when they sponsored me with these two lip items.. I was like:

YAY.

It’s great to receive products you already are a fan of!



I wore a brightly coloured top from Kisslocke (will be launched in the next collection) because the colours reminded me of the citrusy hues of the Mentholatum packaging!

So listen up if you, like me, have sensitive and dry lips – Mentholatum’s Lip Pure range of lip products boast of 100% food grade natural ingredients with gentle Beeswax formulation. For the uninitiated, Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis.



They also Contain Shea Butter Oil, Almond Oil, Aloe Vera Extract and Jojoba Oil to fully protect and moisturize lips, and are full of Vitamin E and Grape Seed Oil to help maintain youthful, soft and plump puckers.



So it’s all natural goodness! I make it a point to avoid chemicals as much as possible – be it in my cosmetics and skincare products or food. Natural is the way to go, and this is a mantra I continuously chant to myself on a daily basis. It does wonders for your health.

And Mentholatum’s Lip Pure products are the ultimate representation of ‘natural’ as they contain no preservatives or colorants. At all. None. Zilch.




I personally love a full lip and because I can’t currently splurge a thousand bucks on fillers, I’d settle for gloss to pump up the volume. The Lip Pure Honey Lemon lip Gel works like a dream – the application is smooth and slick and the result is instantaneous: I immediately have lusciously smexy puckaroos. Look at how shiny they are!



And don’t worry about stickiness – these lip gels are mad comfortable. I literally had hair flying into my face all day and it never once got caught on my lips. Amazing, right?



And because I’m obsessive and compulsive, I try to avoid lip products that aren’t sanitary – especially glosses that dispense in a dip applicator format, i.e. the picture below:

These are unhygienic cos you would be double-dipping the applicator into the gloss tube after application, and newsflash: your skin and lips actually have tons of bacteria on them. Especially after drinking and eating in public cos utensils are filthy. So I really like the clean dispensing style of Mentholatum’s lip gel – you simply squeeze out your desired amount with NO backflow or double dipping! If you’d like to take kiasu-ness to the next level, you can even squeeze out the gel onto your finger instead of directly on your lips.

The transparent lip balm was also effective in keeping my lips moisturized and supple for about 3 hours before re-application was neccessary.

The Mentholatum Lip Pure Series comes in 3 variants: Orange, Fragrance Free and Honey Lemon. Each of these handy tubes retails for a mere $7.90, and you can get your hands on one at any drugstore islandwide (think Watsons, Guardian and supermarkets). I’m ending off with a big-ass picture of my glossed-up lips, just because.

Goodnight!

Disclaimer: Pictures for this advertorial were not photoshopped at all to truly depict the result of the products after use. My skin really isn't that phenomenal in real life. It looks blemish-free in these photos cos I used the 'beauty' and 'portrait' function in my compact camera. Ha ha. Cheater.